{"id":3709,"date":"2012-05-06T16:48:31","date_gmt":"2012-05-06T20:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/?p=3709"},"modified":"2014-05-27T14:43:01","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T18:43:01","slug":"miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The surging popularity of rum was clearly evident at this year’s Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, which again doubled its attendance in its fourth year to more than 8,000 connoisseurs of the cane spirit. The festival was held April 16-22 at the Deauville Beach Resort on Miami Beach, plus other locations around the area.<\/p>\n

\"Miami<\/a>
Miami Rum Renaissance Festival kick-off party at the Broken Shaker at the Indian Creek Hotel on Monday, April 16. (Photo by Soul of Miami)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to the festival organizers, the attendance total included more than 6,000 ticket holders, around 450 VIP passes, and nearly 900 industry passes. Events included rum tastings, VIP parties, celebrity seminars and much more.<\/p>\n

Organized by Robert Burr<\/A> along with his wife Robin and son Rob, the festival is poised to become one of the largest and most prestigious spirits conferences in the country. The festival “surpassed expectations and served to reinforce our message that rum is enjoying a notable resurgence in popularity,” they wrote in a recap sent via e-mail. “We are showing the world that rum is fun – a delightful component of interaction when friends gather to enjoy life.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, The Atomic Grog was busy with The Hukilau<\/A> and two Dick Dale concerts<\/A> that same week, so our schedule was crammed. But we stopped by on the final day, and we also heard many positive reports from attendees.<\/p>\n

Monday’s kick-off party at the Broken Shaker<\/A> pop-up bar at the Indian Creek Hotel was a big hit. Festivalgoers made the cocktail lounge and speakeasy run by acclaimed mixologists Elad Zvi and Gabriel Orta a regular hangout for the rest of the week.<\/p>\n

\"Miami<\/a>
Miami Rum Renaissance Festival Grand Tasting at the Deauville Beach Resort on Sunday, April 22. (Photo by Soul of Miami)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Liar’s Club Pop-Up Bar was great … while it lasted. Originally scheduled for four nights in the Deauville’s Jazz Club, the high-energy, Tiki-themed speakeasy was created by the mad geniuses from the tropical dive bar Liar’s Club<\/A> in Manchester in the U.K. But the experiment came to an end after Tuesday’s debut, a mutual agreement between the Brits and hotel management.<\/p>\n

But there were plenty of other social events. VIP parties hosted by the likes of Appleton, Bacardi and Zacapa kept guests busy all week long. And for Wednesday night’s Tiki Time at The Mai-Kai, participants were bused up to the Fort Lauderdale cocktail mecca for a full evening of drinks, dinner and the legendary Polynesian floor show. Some stayed late to party with attendees of the annual Hukilau event.<\/A><\/p>\n

On Wednesday through Friday, more than 25 experts got down to business during the 2012 RumXP International Tasting Competition, evaluating more than 100 of the finest rums in the world. Click here<\/A> to see the results of the blind tasting trials.<\/p>\n

As the weekend rolled around, it was time for the two-day Grand Tasting events, where dozens of companies offered up rum samples and cocktails in the Deauville’s giant ballroom where the Beatles once performed on the Ed Sullivan show. On Facebook, DJ Mike “Jetsetter” Jones commented that he finally achieved his goal to play the same room as the Fab Four. His tunes added to the festive atmosphere and what seemed like a friendlier vibe than last year’s smaller ballroom. In addition, there was now room for the vendors and the World Tiki Team Championship bartending competition all in the same room.<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/a>
Ian Burrell serves up Havana Club rum during his seminar on the Pina Colada on Sunday, April 22. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Liar’s Club gang got sweet revenge for having their pop-up shut down, joining forces with other top U.K. mixologists to beat the American team in the bartending competition for the third year in a row. Despite an Olympic-sized controversy over a spiked drink, a fun time was had by all. During my quick visit on Sunday, I sampled some tasty cocktails from Appleton, Botran, Don Q, Flor de Ca\u00f1a and a few other lesser known brands. Mojitos and daiquiris were abundant, the smell of mint, lime and rum wafting through the air. I was very impressed by an outstanding daiquiri from Appleton that included the brand’s 12-year-old Extra, lime juice, Demerara sugar syrup and a dusting of coffee and spices. <\/p>\n

The studious side of the rum world was explored in the celebrity and trade seminars that were held in smaller conference rooms off the Deauville’s lobby. Quiet and out of the way of the hubbub of the Grand Tasting, it gave novices and experts alike the chance to broaden their knowledge and appreciation of rum. These ranged from presentations by master distillers and brand masters, to the more lighthearted but still very educational presentation that I attended: “The Pi\u00f1a Colada Paternity Test.”<\/p>\n

Presented by Ian Burrell<\/A>, producer of the U.K. RumFest<\/A>, this multimedia, multi-sensory presentation was fun from start to finish. And it didn’t hurt that Burrell gave early arrivals a complimentary taste of his Havana Club rum, the famous Cuban brand that’s banned in the United States. Burrell also put his illicit hooch to good use in the cocktail samples he made while answering the questions: Who created the Pi\u00f1a Colada? Where was it created? And what rum was used?<\/p>\n

\"Fresh<\/a>
Fresh pineapples and four different rums were included in the Pina Colada history lesson. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The informative seminar lasted several hours and featured many sample cocktails (see photo below). It also served as a very accurate history lesson, beginning with the discovery of the “pined apple” by Columbus’ sailors in the 1500s. They found Ta\u00ednos indians drinking the fruit’s juice on the island that would later become San Salvador. Burrell traced the precursor to the Pi\u00f1a Colada all the way back to Robero Cofres\u00ed (1791-1825), an infamous Puerto Rican pirate who boosted his crew’s morale by mixing their pineapple juice with coconut and aguadiente, an “unrefined spirit” that’s similar to today’s cacha\u00e7a.<\/p>\n

Burrell’s research found the first references to rum being mixed with pineapple juice in 1824. By 1836, this combination had taken Europe by storm, and was referred to as “hot pineapple, rum, and water” in a writing by Dickens. When ice became more common in the Caribbean, the Pi\u00f1a Fria (rum and pineapple juice) was born. <\/p>\n

By the turn of the 20th century, with tourism growing in the Caribbean, word spread of these tasty cocktails. Burrell cited a 1906 book that referred to Pi\u00f1a Frias in Cuba and Jamaica containing pineapple, ice, sugar and water.<\/p>\n

But what about the name? Burrell’s research found the earliest reference to “Pi\u00f1a Colada” in a 1922 travel magazine, during the dark days of Prohibition in the United States. In this era, writers romanticized about visiting the Caribbean, but they were apparently banned from mentioning alcohol. So there are many references to virgin Pi\u00f1a Coladas. <\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/a>
Ian Burrell pours Pina Coladas into pineapples for seminar participants to sample. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Burrell found, and offered samples of, a 1922 recipe for a “Pi\u00f1a Colada” that included pineapple juice, ice, sugar, lime and Bacardi. But where was the coconut that makes the modern drink distinctive? It seemingly died with old El Pirata Cofres\u00ed in 1825.<\/p>\n

Modern references to coconut being added to this concoction start around 1937. But what kind of coconut? A 1950 New York Times<\/I> column refers to “Cuba’s Pi\u00f1a Colada” as containing rum, pineapple and coconut milk.<\/p>\n

Cubans had actually been enjoying coconut in their drinks for much longer. At the legendary La Florida (later El Floridita), where the daiquiri was popularized in the early 20th century, coconut milk and coconut cream had long been offered as exotic ingredients. But the complicated process to make these mixes could take all day, not very economical for a busy bar.<\/p>\n

Then came Coco Lopez, a commercial coconut cream introduced in Puerto Rico in 1954, instantly making the Pi\u00f1a Colada famous and Puerto Rico its modern homeland. Burrell actually recommends the Coco Real brand of coconut cream, which he says is a more natural product. <\/p>\n

The birthplace is generally accepted to be the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan. As early as 1954, bartender Ram\u00f3n “Monchito” Marrero prepared his Pi\u00f1a Coladas with Don Q rum, pineapple juice and Coco Lopez, serving them inside a pineapple. Less authentic is the claim by Ramon Portas Mingot that he invented the drink in Puerto Rico in 1963. He used Ron Barrilito rum and also added condensed milk. We tried both versions, and while the latter may be richer and creamier, Burrell has no doubt that Marrero is the modern creator.<\/p>\n

\"Many<\/a>
Many Pina Coladas were sampled during the seminar. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As always, Burrell mixed humor and first-person stories (including his claim that his father invented the Pi\u00f1a Colada in Jamaica) to make his seminar fun and full of laughs. At the conclusion, he whipped up blender after blender full of his own special version of the Pi\u00f1a Colada – featuring all four rums that he used in the seminar – and passed them around the room in hollowed-out pineapples.<\/p>\n

It was a great way to wrap up a rum-soaked weekend and get a little history lesson in the process.<\/p>\n

Mark your calendars: Next year’s Miami Rum Renaissance Festival will be held April 15-21.<\/p>\n

Official sites<\/B>
\n* Miami Rum Renaissance Festival<\/A> | Facebook page<\/A>
\n* Robert Burr’s Rum Guide<\/A> | National Rum Examiner<\/A> | Rum Expert Panel<\/A><\/p>\n

Other coverage, photos<\/B>
\n* Bar Life UK: Bacardi UK team wins Miami Tiki-off once again<\/A>
\n* New Times<\/I>: Try these rum brands<\/A> | 15 rums, 2 cachacas in one hour<\/A> | Photo gallery<\/A>
\n* Huffington Post: Miami Rum Renaissance draws thousands at the Deauville hotel<\/A><\/p>\n

On The Atomic Grog<\/B>
\n* Past Rum Renaissance coverage<\/A> | Mai-Kai cocktail review: Pi\u00f1a Colada<\/A><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The surging popularity of rum was clearly evident at this year’s Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, which again doubled its attendance in its fourth year to more than 8,000 connoisseurs of the cane spirit. The festival was held April 16-22 at the Deauville Beach Resort on Miami Beach, plus other locations around the area. According to … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,41,7,43,32,567,8],"tags":[150,377,376,371,375,827,17,307,378,330,25],"class_list":["post-3709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cocktails","category-culture","category-events-2","category-history-culture","category-rum-cocktails","category-miami-rum-festival","category-south-florida","tag-appleton","tag-coconut","tag-havana-club","tag-ian-burrell","tag-liars-club","tag-mai-kai","tag-miami-rum-renaissance-festival","tag-pina-colada","tag-pina-fria","tag-pineapple","tag-rum"],"yoast_head":"\nMiami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation - The Atomic Grog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation - The Atomic Grog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The surging popularity of rum was clearly evident at this year’s Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, which again doubled its attendance in its fourth year to more than 8,000 connoisseurs of the cane spirit. The festival was held April 16-22 at the Deauville Beach Resort on Miami Beach, plus other locations around the area. According to … Continue reading "Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Atomic Grog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/atomicgrog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/atomicgrog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-06T20:48:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-05-27T18:43:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/miamirumrenaissancefestivalkickoffparty041612-013--300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hurricane Hayward\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@theatomicgrog\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@theatomicgrog\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hurricane Hayward\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hurricane Hayward\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d148c3e6891224766841c162ce418ff1\"},\"headline\":\"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-06T20:48:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-05-27T18:43:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1690,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d148c3e6891224766841c162ce418ff1\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/miamirumrenaissancefestivalkickoffparty041612-013--300x225.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Appleton\",\"coconut\",\"Havana Club\",\"Ian Burrell\",\"Liar's Club\",\"Mai-Kai\",\"Miami Rum Renaissance Festival\",\"Pina Colada\",\"Pina Fria\",\"pineapple\",\"rum\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Cocktails\",\"Culture\",\"Events\",\"History\",\"Rum\",\"Rum festivals\",\"South Florida\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/\",\"name\":\"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation - The Atomic Grog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/miamirumrenaissancefestivalkickoffparty041612-013--300x225.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-06T20:48:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-05-27T18:43:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/miamirumrenaissancefestivalkickoffparty041612-013-.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/miamirumrenaissancefestivalkickoffparty041612-013-.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1\",\"width\":\"600\",\"height\":\"450\",\"caption\":\"Miami Rum Renaissance Festival kick-off party at the Broken Shaker at the Indian Creek Hotel on Monday, April 16. (Photo by Soul of Miami)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/06\\\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Atomic Grog\",\"description\":\"Events, Music, Art, Cocktails, Culture\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d148c3e6891224766841c162ce418ff1\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d148c3e6891224766841c162ce418ff1\",\"name\":\"Hurricane Hayward\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/Atomic-Grog-logo_200.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/Atomic-Grog-logo_200.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/Atomic-Grog-logo_200.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":178,\"caption\":\"Hurricane Hayward\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/Atomic-Grog-logo_200.jpg\"},\"description\":\"A journalist and Florida resident for more than 40 years, Jim \\\"Hurricane\\\" Hayward shares his obsession with Polynesian Pop and other retro styles on his blog, The Atomic Grog. Jim's roots in mid-century and retro culture go back to his childhood in the 1960s, when he tagged along with his parents to Tiki restaurants and his father's custom car shows. His experience in newspaper journalism and more than 20 years as an independent concert promoter have given him a front-row seat in the South Florida scene since the 1970s. He promoted hundreds of rock, punk, and indie concerts under the Slammie Productions banner since the early 1990s. A graduate of the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications in 1983, Jim was a longtime editor and web producer for The Palm Beach Post before his retirement in 2022. He earned his nickname by virtue of both his dangerous exotic drinks and his longtime position overseeing tropical weather coverage in his stormy home state. Jim now spends his time mixing cocktails, attending events and writing stories for this blog, which launched in 2011. The Atomic Grog extensively covers events, music, art, cocktails, and culture with a retro slant.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/theatomicgrog.com\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/atomicgrog\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/theatomicgrog\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/theatomicgrog\",\"https:\\\/\\\/youtube.com\\\/@atomicgrog\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.slammie.com\\\/atomicgrog\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/hurricanehayward\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation - The Atomic Grog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation - The Atomic Grog","og_description":"The surging popularity of rum was clearly evident at this year’s Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, which again doubled its attendance in its fourth year to more than 8,000 connoisseurs of the cane spirit. The festival was held April 16-22 at the Deauville Beach Resort on Miami Beach, plus other locations around the area. According to … Continue reading \"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/","og_site_name":"The Atomic Grog","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/atomicgrog","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/atomicgrog","article_published_time":"2012-05-06T20:48:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-05-27T18:43:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/miamirumrenaissancefestivalkickoffparty041612-013--300x225.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Hurricane Hayward","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@theatomicgrog","twitter_site":"@theatomicgrog","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hurricane Hayward","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/"},"author":{"name":"Hurricane Hayward","@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d148c3e6891224766841c162ce418ff1"},"headline":"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation","datePublished":"2012-05-06T20:48:31+00:00","dateModified":"2014-05-27T18:43:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/"},"wordCount":1690,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d148c3e6891224766841c162ce418ff1"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/miamirumrenaissancefestivalkickoffparty041612-013--300x225.jpg","keywords":["Appleton","coconut","Havana Club","Ian Burrell","Liar's Club","Mai-Kai","Miami Rum Renaissance Festival","Pina Colada","Pina Fria","pineapple","rum"],"articleSection":["Cocktails","Culture","Events","History","Rum","Rum festivals","South Florida"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/","url":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/","name":"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation - The Atomic Grog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/miamirumrenaissancefestivalkickoffparty041612-013--300x225.jpg","datePublished":"2012-05-06T20:48:31+00:00","dateModified":"2014-05-27T18:43:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/miamirumrenaissancefestivalkickoffparty041612-013-.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/miamirumrenaissancefestivalkickoffparty041612-013-.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1","width":"600","height":"450","caption":"Miami Rum Renaissance Festival kick-off party at the Broken Shaker at the Indian Creek Hotel on Monday, April 16. (Photo by Soul of Miami)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/2012\/05\/06\/miami-festival-offers-many-lessons-in-rum-appreciation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Miami festival offers many lessons in rum appreciation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/","name":"The Atomic Grog","description":"Events, Music, Art, Cocktails, Culture","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d148c3e6891224766841c162ce418ff1"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d148c3e6891224766841c162ce418ff1","name":"Hurricane Hayward","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Atomic-Grog-logo_200.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Atomic-Grog-logo_200.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Atomic-Grog-logo_200.jpg","width":200,"height":178,"caption":"Hurricane Hayward"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Atomic-Grog-logo_200.jpg"},"description":"A journalist and Florida resident for more than 40 years, Jim \"Hurricane\" Hayward shares his obsession with Polynesian Pop and other retro styles on his blog, The Atomic Grog. Jim's roots in mid-century and retro culture go back to his childhood in the 1960s, when he tagged along with his parents to Tiki restaurants and his father's custom car shows. His experience in newspaper journalism and more than 20 years as an independent concert promoter have given him a front-row seat in the South Florida scene since the 1970s. He promoted hundreds of rock, punk, and indie concerts under the Slammie Productions banner since the early 1990s. A graduate of the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications in 1983, Jim was a longtime editor and web producer for The Palm Beach Post before his retirement in 2022. He earned his nickname by virtue of both his dangerous exotic drinks and his longtime position overseeing tropical weather coverage in his stormy home state. Jim now spends his time mixing cocktails, attending events and writing stories for this blog, which launched in 2011. The Atomic Grog extensively covers events, music, art, cocktails, and culture with a retro slant.","sameAs":["https:\/\/theatomicgrog.com","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/atomicgrog","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theatomicgrog\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/atomicgrog\/","https:\/\/x.com\/theatomicgrog","https:\/\/youtube.com\/@atomicgrog"],"url":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/author\/hurricanehayward\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1xHjT-XP","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3709\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slammie.com\/atomicgrog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}